Inside the 2025 TIP Report
On September 29, the U.S. State Department released the 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. The annual report is the government’s principal tool for assessing sex trafficking and forced labor worldwide, and includes progress, challenges, and recommendations for more than 180 countries.
This year’s TIP Report is clouded by unusual circumstances. It was released three months past the statutory deadline and without the usual public roll-out by the Secretary of State or recognition of Trafficking in Persons Heroes – both of which serve to underscore the U.S. government’s commitment to ending trafficking. The release followed deep staff cuts at the State Department’s TIP Office, raising serious concerns about the government’s ability to produce quality reports in the future, or support vital anti-trafficking programs worldwide.
Global Tier Rankings
Country rankings were broadly in line with previous years. The United States and most OECD countries remained Tier 1. Brazil and South Africa dropped to the Tier 2 Watch List, while Cambodia, China, Cuba, and Russia stayed in Tier 3. Cambodia was newly named a state sponsor of trafficking.
Findings on the United States
The U.S. narrative revealed several key developments:
Convictions fell: Total trafficking convictions dropped from 289 in FY23 to 210 in FY24, almost entirely due to fewer sex trafficking convictions.
Investigations rose: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) increased investigations into human trafficking.
Victim relief expanded: T Visa approvals for victims significantly increased from 2,181 to 3,786.
Yet serious challenges remain: Victims continue to be arrested for crimes they were forced to commit as a result of trafficking. Adults in immigration detention are not screened for trafficking. Legal services for unaccompanied migrant children have been cut. And experts note insufficient support for child victims, children aging out of services, boys and men, and victims “who identify as lesbian and gay” (noting that the TIP Report has also removed references to LGBTQI+ populations in other countries’ narratives, raising concerns about the lack of recognition of these groups already at high risk).
How PACT Advocates for Change
PACT works to ensure that U.S. policies and programs effectively protect all child victims of sex trafficking, including LGBTQI+ youth and other marginalized children. We advocate for systematic trafficking screening for all children detained in immigration centers, access to legal counsel for migrant children and unaccompanied minors, and comprehensive, child-centered services that provide protection, rehabilitation, and support.
We also call on the U.S. government to recognize victims of trafficking and ensure they do not face federal criminal liability for acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked—a reform that can be achieved through passage of the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act (H.R. 4323 and S. 2255)
In addition, the U.S. must uphold its obligations under the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography, an international treaty requiring legal measures to prevent and respond to child trafficking.